Taxi
ABC (ended 1983)
Cast & Crew
EDIT
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Judd Hirsch
Alex Reiger
Judd Hirsch was born March 15, 1935. He is an American actor best known for playing 'Alex Rieger' on the show Taxi. He played the title character on the sitcomDear John and the father of Jeff Goldblum's character in Independence Day. Judd also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Ordinary People. Judd currently portrays Alan, the wise patriarch of the Eppes family, on the hit CBS crime drama Numb3rs. He is married and has two children.moreless -
Jeff Conaway
Bobby Wheeler
Jeff Conaway always wanted to be an astronaut. At the age of 7, his need to wear glasses caused that dream to crash and burn. By the age of 9, he decided to be an actor (following in his parents footsteps) and won the part of the very first role he auditioned for which was a Broadway play called "ALL THE WAY HOME", starring Lillian Gish, Colleen Dewhurst and Auther Hill. A national company touring of "CRITIC'S CHOICE" followed and Jeff was on his way
When Jeff returned to his hometown in New York, he worked consistently in TV as well as Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and as a model. He discovered both a love and a talent for rock-n-roll in his teens and college years. By 16, Jeff joined the band "3 1/2" as a singer and rhythm guitarist and toured with the likes of Herman's Hermits, The Animals, Gladys Knight and the Pips and even backed up Chuck Berry.
Jeff's passion for acting though, brought him back to N.Y., majoring in theatre at NYU. After leaving college, he took over the role of Danny Zuko in the hit Broadway musical "GREASE". A national tour followed, after which a return to Broadway with the show. Afterwards, he decided to hit the road out west to give Hollywood a shot!
Jeff has done a huge body of work including many feature films, commercials, modeling jobs, plays, movies of the week and starring and guest starring roles in some of the most popular shows. For many, he is best known as Kenickie in the 1978 blockbuster film "GREASE" and Bobby Wheeler in TV's "TAXI". A succession of projects followed, including the adventure/ fantasy show "WIZARDS & WARRIORS", "THE BERRINGER'S", a recurring role on "MURDER SHE WROTE" and numerous guest-starring roles in hit TV shows. Jeff's childhood dream of "going to outer space" finally came true when he joined the cast of the c sci-fi TV show, "BABYLON 5"playing Zack Allen, Chief of Security.
Jeff presently lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife of 13 years, Kerri. He has been a strong supporter and volunteer of the LA Mission. He is currently writing a pilot for television, a feature film and a Christian CD. Jeff also teaches acting on a weekly basis in Los Angeles (for more information call (323) 692-9110). He has done about 40 feature films including "JAWBREAKER" and "MAN ON THE MOON". Recently, Jeff completed filming "DICKY ROBERTSCHILD STAR" starring David Spade.
A multitalented person, Jeff's credits to date reflects acting, dancing, singing, writing, producing, directing and teaching and this has been only in his first 42 years.moreless -
Danny DeVito
Louie DePalma
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in Neptune, New Jersey. His father, Daniel, Sr., was a small business owner whose ventures included a dry cleaning shop, a dairy outlet, a diner, and a pool hall. His mother, Julia, was a homemaker. While growing up in Asbury Park, his parents sent him to private schools. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School. Following graduation in 1962, he took a job as a cosmetician at his sister's beauty salon. A year later, he enrolled at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts so he could learn more about cosmetology. While at the academy, he fell in love with acting and decided to further pursue an acting career. During this time, he met another aspiring actor Michael Douglas at the National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut. The two would later go on to collaborate on numerous projects. Soon after he also met an actress named Rhea Perlman. The two fell in loved and moved in together. They would later get married and have three children. In 1968, Danny landed his first part in a movie when he appeared as a thug in the obscure Dreams of Glass (1970). Despite this minor triumph, Danny became discouraged with the film industry and decided to focus on stage productions. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1969 in "The Man With the Flower in His Mouth." He followed this up with stage roles in "The Shrinking Bride," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Lady Liberty." In 1975, he was approached by director Milos Forman and Michael Douglas about reprising his role in the film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which would star Jack Nicholson in the leading role. With box office success almost guaranteed and a chance for national exposure, Danny agreed to the role. The movie became a huge hit, both critically and financially, and still ranks today as one the greatest movies of all time. Unfortunately, the movie did very little to help Danny's career. In the years following, he was relegated to small movie roles and guest appearances on television shows. His big break came in 1978 when he auditioned for a role on an ABC sitcom pilot called "Taxi" (1978), which centered around taxi cab drivers at a New York City garage. Danny auditioned for the role of dispatcher Louie DePalma. At the audition, the producers told Danny that he needed to show more attitude in order to get the part. He then slammed down the script and yelled, "Who wrote this sh**?" The producers, realizing he was perfect for the part, brought him on board. The show was a huge success, running from 1978 to 1983. Louie DePalma, played flawlessly by Danny, became one of the most memorable (and reviled) characters in television history. While he was universally hated by TV viewers, he was well-praised by critics, winning an Emmy award and being nominated three other times. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Danny maintained his status as a great character actor with memorable roles in movies like Romancing the Stone (1984), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987) and _Twins (1988)_ . He also had a great deal of success behind the camera, directing movies like The War of the Roses (1989) and Hoffa (1992). In 1992, Danny was introduced to a new generation of moviegoers, when he was given the role of The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in Tim Burton's highly successful Batman Returns (1992). This earned him a nomination for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards. That same year, along with his wife Rhea Perlman, Danny co-founded Jersey Films, which has produced many popular films and TV shows, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Man on the Moon (1999) and Erin Brockovich (2000). Despite being a diminutive 5' tall, overweight and balding, Danny has managed to overcome long odds to become one of Hollywoods most versatile actors. These days, he continues to work with many of today's top talents as an actor, director and producer.moreless -
Tony Danza
Tony Banta
As a kid, Antonio Ladanza didn't dream of acting; he dreamt of being a boxer. He even boxed professionally briefly under the name 'Dangerous' Tony Danza. While working out at the gym, he was spotted by a casting director and invited to audition for a role in the sitcom Taxi. After Taxi, Danza devoted his energy to acting. He appeared in the films She's Out of Control, Angels in the Outfield, and Going Ape!. He continued to work in televison with Who's the Boss? and The Tony Danza Show. Currently, he hosts the daytime talk show Tony Danza Show.moreless -
Marilu Henner
Elaine Nardo
Marilu was born Mary Lucy Pudlowski in Chicago, IL. She was the third of six children born to Joe (a car salesman) and Loretta Henner (a dance instructor). She attended the University of Chicago for 3 years, before dropping out to pursue her Broadway acting career. Marilu started her professional acting career in the touring company of Grease. She later joined the Broadway production. This was the start of a successful Broadway career, including roles in Chicago, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (just to name a few). Marilu has also had a successful TV career starring in Taxi, Evening Shade, and numerous talk shows. Taxi led Marilu into movies where she starred or co-starred in numerous successful feature films. Marilu is also known as an activist for numerous causes, including dead beat parents, abuse, and other causes. Marilu has been married three times. First she wed Frederic Forrest in 1980, they divorced in 1982. She then married director Robert Lieberman with whom she had two children, Nicholas and Joseph. Her attempts at getting pregnant were well documented. For her secondchild, she even allowed cameras to follow her throughout her pregnancy all the way into the delivery room. The couple filed for divorce in June 2001. Finally, Marilu married Michael Brown--her college roommate's ex-boyfriend. Recently, Marilu has been focusing on healthy living. She is the author of numerous self-help books, and she has hosted several fitness programs on cable television.moreless -
Randall Carver
John Burns
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Andy Kaufman
Latka Gravas
Andy Kaufman was born in 1949 in New York City, and lived in Great Neck, Long Island for much of his childhood. Andy had dreamed of being a performer since he was a child, and performed at birthday parties and other small venues for many years starting when he was eight. While attending college, Andy began performing stand-up comedy locally and was eventually spotted by "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels. Andy appeared on the inaugural broadcast of the show in 1975.
Following his stint on SNL, Andy was hired to play the part of Latka Gravas, on the television show "Taxi" in 1978. The part of Latka was modeled after one of Andy's stand-up characters, "Foreign Man," but was later expanded to showcase Andy's comedic talents.
Andy's off-beat sense of humor was loved my many, and equally reviled by many others. His bits included the "Foreign Man," an Elvis Presley impersonation, reading "The Great Gatsby" in its entirety, and performing as small time Vegas lounge singer Tony Clifton.
Andy vehemiently denied that he and Clifton were the same person, and would sometimes appear in public at the same time, courtesy of his brother Michael or long time friend Bob Zmuda. At Andy's request, Clifton was hired as a guest star on Taxi, but was thrown from the studio after throwing a tantrum. After his performance at Carnegie Hall in 1979, Andy took the audience out for milk and cookies. Andy also dabbled with wrestling, and from 1979 to 1983, he was the undefeated "Inter-gender Wrestling Champion."
After the end of "Taxi," Andy appeared on the NBC variety show "Fridays," during one of his appearances, he incited a brawl between himself, Michael Richards, and several crew members. In 1984, Andy passed away due to lung cancer, though many still speculate that he has faked his own death. Andy had once said that if he were to fake his own death, that he would return 20 years later, a date which has since passed.moreless -
J. Alan Thomas
Jeff Bennett
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Christopher Lloyd
Jim Ignatowski
Christopher was drawn to acting at the age of 14, and two years later he was appearing in summer stock. At 19 he moved to New York and began acting classes, most notably at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner. Chris moved to New York City to study acting instead of continuing in plays. Christopher has appeared in countless Broadway and New York Shakespeare Festivals along with off-Broadway productions Such as "Happy End", "A Midsummer Nights Dream" (co-starring with Meryl Streep), "MacBeth" and "King Lear." It wasn't until he made his Motion Picture Debut in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Lloyd was determined to pursue a career in Film so on July 4, 1976 he moved to Los Angeles. Two years later he guest stared on eight episodes of Taxi and that launched his career into stardom. The following season he was added as a cast regular, opposite buddy Danny DeVito, whom he had previously worked with on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Goin' South. Christopher's won three Emmy awards--two for Outstanding Supporting actor in a comedy series for his role in both the 1982 and 1983 Seasons of Taxi and Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series on a guest appearance in Disney's "Avonlea" (1992) and other awards such as an Obie Award in 1973, Drama Desk Award also in 1973 from the Village Voice for Outstanding Performance in the Off-Broadway play "Kaspar". After Taxi ended, Lloyd went primarily into movie work with such characters as Doc Brown, Fester Addams, and Colonel Kruge, to name a few. His best-known role is Dr. Emmett L. Brown from the Back To The Future movies. Chris reprised the character back in the early '90s in Universal Studios' themepark ride attraction Back to the Future... The Ride, and two seasons on The short-lived CBS Cartoon Series Back to the Future - The Animated Series. He also made his CD-ROM Game debut on the interactive game Toonstruck. Despite his success he doesn't make appearnces on talk shows promoting his movies or shows because he's an extremely shy guy and he prefers to keep his personal life separate from his acting career and before he signs a contract he makes sure that he does not do any talk show appearances or interviews because he dose not feel comfortable doing interviews. He has promoted two films by appearing in music videos by the soundtrack's artists: Doc Brown in Huey Lewis & The News' "The Power of Love", and as Fester Addams in MC Hammer's "Addams Groove".moreless -
Carol Kane
Simka Dahblitz (Seasons 4 and 5; Recurring Otherwise)
Carol Kane was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Michael Myron Kane, an architect and Joy Fetterman Kane, a jazz singer. The family moved to New York City when Carol was 8 years old. Carol started acting professionally in the theater at age 14. She worked in theater from time to time, and worked as an extra in New York productions to make ends meet. Carol's break-through in movies was in "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), playing a prostitute. Her most famous TV role was on the sitcom Taxi as Simka, the immigrant wife of Latka, played by Andy Kaufman. Carol has made many appearances in movies and television. In 2005 she returned to stage, playing Madame Morrible in the Toronto production of the musical, "Wicked."moreless -
TJ Castranova
Tommy
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Rhea Perlman
Zena Sherman
Fans familiar with diminutive American actress Rhea Perlman only through her Emmy-winning characterization of wasp-tongued waitress Carla Tortelli on the TV sitcom Cheers are usually taken aback to discover that Perlman is as shy and soft-spoken as Carla was pushy and abrasive. A working actress since the 1960s, Perlman played Carla from 1983 until Cheers; swan song ten years later. Most of her outside projects during that period, notably the 1984 TV movie The Ratings Game and a 1986 episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, were done in conjunction with her longtime companion, Danny DeVito, who also played her boyfriend on the late 70s comedy series Taxi. Kindred spirits, Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito eventually marched down the matrimonial aisle as a loudspeaker played a recording of Carl Alfalfa Switzer singing "I'm in the Mood for Love."moreless -
Gene LeBell
referee
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Jeff Conaway
Bobby Wheeler
Jeff Conaway always wanted to be an astronaut. At the age of 7, his need to wear glasses caused that dream to crash and burn. By the age of 9, he decided to be an actor (following in his parents footsteps) and won the part of the very first role he auditioned for which was a Broadway play called "ALL THE WAY HOME", starring Lillian Gish, Colleen Dewhurst and Auther Hill. A national company touring of "CRITIC'S CHOICE" followed and Jeff was on his way
When Jeff returned to his hometown in New York, he worked consistently in TV as well as Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and as a model. He discovered both a love and a talent for rock-n-roll in his teens and college years. By 16, Jeff joined the band "3 1/2" as a singer and rhythm guitarist and toured with the likes of Herman's Hermits, The Animals, Gladys Knight and the Pips and even backed up Chuck Berry.
Jeff's passion for acting though, brought him back to N.Y., majoring in theatre at NYU. After leaving college, he took over the role of Danny Zuko in the hit Broadway musical "GREASE". A national tour followed, after which a return to Broadway with the show. Afterwards, he decided to hit the road out west to give Hollywood a shot!
Jeff has done a huge body of work including many feature films, commercials, modeling jobs, plays, movies of the week and starring and guest starring roles in some of the most popular shows. For many, he is best known as Kenickie in the 1978 blockbuster film "GREASE" and Bobby Wheeler in TV's "TAXI". A succession of projects followed, including the adventure/ fantasy show "WIZARDS & WARRIORS", "THE BERRINGER'S", a recurring role on "MURDER SHE WROTE" and numerous guest-starring roles in hit TV shows. Jeff's childhood dream of "going to outer space" finally came true when he joined the cast of the c sci-fi TV show, "BABYLON 5"playing Zack Allen, Chief of Security.
Jeff presently lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife of 13 years, Kerri. He has been a strong supporter and volunteer of the LA Mission. He is currently writing a pilot for television, a feature film and a Christian CD. Jeff also teaches acting on a weekly basis in Los Angeles (for more information call (323) 692-9110). He has done about 40 feature films including "JAWBREAKER" and "MAN ON THE MOON". Recently, Jeff completed filming "DICKY ROBERTSCHILD STAR" starring David Spade.
A multitalented person, Jeff's credits to date reflects acting, dancing, singing, writing, producing, directing and teaching and this has been only in his first 42 years.moreless -
Talia Balsam
Cathy Consuelas
The daughter of actors Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten, Talia Balsam has herself pursued an acting career since her teens. Talia's film resume includes Sunnyside (1979), Crawlspace (1986) and In the Mood (1987). In the obscure film melodrama Private Investigations, Talia co-starred with her father Martin. Among Talia Balsam's many TV credits is the 1981 TV docudrama Kent State, in which she played one of the five students felled by National Guard bullets.moreless -
Jill Jaress
airline counter employee
In addition to acting, Jill owns four feature film scripts, three of which are romantic comedies. -
Jill Jaress
secretary
In addition to acting, Jill owns four feature film scripts, three of which are romantic comedies. -
Carlos Palomino
Carlos Navarone
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Dwight Woody
Frankie Wallace
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Suzanne Kent
Angela
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Robert Phalen
Tom Jeffries
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Taurean Blacque
Police Officer
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William Bogert
James Broderick
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Andra Akers
Rita
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Paula Victor
Mrs. Hazeltine
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Treva Silverman
woman Latka picks up at party
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Clyde Kusatsu
Paul
Clyde Kusatsu was born September 13, 1948 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Iloani School. He later studied theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is married to Gayle Kusatsu, and they have two sons: Kevin and Andrew. -
Ellen Regan
Suzanne
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Dolph Sweet
Mr. Carruthers
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Sheila Rogers
Mrs. Carruthers
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Categories
Comedy
Themes
Dry Humor, Ensemble Cast, Laugh Track, Oblivious Bumbling, Office Humor
